Two Vows, One Destiny
by x-Oscena-x
Summary: Centuries ago, Dashi, Guan, Chase, and Denko Da protected the world from evil. Denko, however, turned to the side of evil, leaving his wife to die giving birth to his child. The remaining three warriors vowed to protect the girl... forever.
1. Chapter 1: A New Student and a New Wu

Author's note: I wrote this two years ago, before Cartoon Network had aired all the episodes (or at least before I had seen them). It was two years ago, so I was young and stupid. To save you all some greif, I went through and revised it and filled in some plotholes and grammar DISASTERS. I assume that this is set somewhere early in the second season, after Chase Young has been established as an enemy, but before the Dragon Apprentices get all their cool powers and mature (especially in Rai's case). The story contains four OCs, but only three important OCs, so don't feel too overwhelmed, because they all tie in without messing up any of the set-in-stone facts in the show. Enough rambling. Here's chapter one!

Two Vows, One Destiny

A Xiaolin Showdown Story

Chapter 1: A New Student and a New Wu

"Dragon apprentices. I have called you all here to inform you that as of this afternoon you will all have a new companion. The young woman-"

Omi interrupted. "A girl? Another fragile girl coming to train with the men?"

"Hey!" Kimiko cried indignantly, glaring at him coldly.

"Anyone is, of course, welcome to train at temple... I expect you all to behave properly."

"Where's she from?" Raimundo asked, his brazilian accent rolling off his tongue.

"She comes to us from the United States. Texas, to be precise."

"Really Master Fung?! Texas?" Clay bursted out excitedly.

"Yes, Clay. I thought you would be interested." He smiled.

"How's she getting here?" Kimiko asked.

"She will be escorted by her mother."

Raimundo bursted out laughing and clutched his sides. "Her _mom _is bringing her?"

"That is enough." Master Fung stood. "You will treat our newest student with respect. Is that clear?"

"Yes Master Fung..." Raimundo grumbled.

**...**

The sound of tires on dirt came floating through the air, and the Dragon apprentices scrambled out of the temple. Outside in the sunlight, they saw a beat-up, faded red car coming up the dirt road. They couldn't see anything through the dirty windows.

Master Fung stepped up to the car as it came to a halt. The driver's door opened first, and a small woman stepped out. On her head rested large sunglasses, and her thin, permed, fake-blond hair shone in the sunlight. She smiled largely, showing her bleached white teeth, and rested her free hand on her waist, drawing attention to her zebra-striped mini-skirt. This must be the girl's mother.

"You must be Mrs. Jackson. Pleased to make your acquaintance," Master Fung said, bowing.

The woman was unsure what to do, and dipped her back a little. "Uh... yeah. And you must be Amanda's new teacher, Mister Fung?" She had a high, raspy voice with some kind of wierd American accent, like someone from an old timey southern movie.

"I am."

At that moment, the passenger door opened, and the Dragons watched, holding their breath. A young woman stepped out. She was teller than her mother, and had long brown hair tied up in a pony-tail, bright green eyes, and palish skin. Her brown bangs covered one of her eyes modestly. She already wore the red uniform of the temple. Her uncovered eye scanned over them timidly, and she pulled out with her a black backpack and slung over her shoulder.

'Is that her suitcase? Talk about packing lightly.' Raimundo thought, raising a brow.

"And you are the new student, Amanda, I presume?" Master Fung stated more than asked as Amanda shyly walked over to them.

"Yes sir," she replied quietly, bowing, her hair falling around her.

"Please, feel free to come inside." Master Fung said, turning to the woman and indicating toward the temple. "Actually, I really need to get going. I've got somewhere to be tonight!" she said with a wink.

Amanda stared at the ground, a pink tinge coming to her pale cheeks.

"Very well, then. You two may say your goodbyes."

The woman pecked Amanda on the cheek and pulled her into a quick, tight hug. "You be good, y'hear?"

Everyone else looked away, embarrassed to be intrusive.

"Okay, mom," she replied, her hands pinned to her sides.

"I love you."

"Love you, too."

After a few awkward seconds, the woman stepped back and there was a silence. Then, she climbed back into her car and dabbed her eyes with a tissue, smearing her mascara. Then she drove away over the road.

Amanda watched after her for a moment, then turned to the others.

Kimiko though disbelievingly, 'how could those two be related?'

Raimundo was still trying to keep from laughing. The only thing that had registered through the whole scene was the woman's strange behavior and skimpy outfit. 'Zebra stripes?!'

Amanda's hand flew to her head suddenly, and she swayed on the spot, her eyes out of focus.

"What's wrong?" Clay asks as the group rushed to her.

"Are you unwell, new friend?" asked Omi, looking up at her with worried eyes.

"Oh... I'm... fine," she said, lowering her hand and regaining her balance. "Just-"

A call was heard from inside the temple. "No time for a warm welcome! A new shen-gong-wu has just turned active!" Dojo ran out into the yard.

"Good, Dojo. Our newest student will accompany you, apprentices. Now let us first see..."

Dojo held up and opened a scroll. In the picture, a man wore a crystal on the end of a long chain around his neck, and above his head in a bubble, was another person, walking. The man's spirit floated out of him and walked beside the man in the bubble. It made no sense to any of them.

"The Crystal Pendant," stated Dojo. "It gives the holder the ability to see any person on earth or off it, at any period in time. Oh, I remember this one! It can also be used as a tool for spying on your enemies!"

"It sounds most useful!"

"Let's go get'r!"

"Right!"


	2. Chapter 2: The Crystal Pendant

Author's note: I'll go ahead and post chapter two, but I'm still revising chapter three, so y'all'l have to wait for the next on for a little while.

Chapter 2: The Crystal Pendant

Amanda and the others sat atop Dojo as he flew through the sky. Amanda clung on, her eyes clenched tightly shut and her head down. The dragon apprentices watched her.

Kimiko asked, "Are you alright?"

She looked up and answered with a mute nod, her face pale as a ghost.

"So you're from Texas, right? Which part?" Clay asked, taking a shot at breaking the ice.

"I lived in the city. Dallas," she replied.

Clay seemed dissappointed, and Amanda looked away, a pink tinge coming to her cheeks.

"Where are we going?" she asked suddenly, watching the mountainous scenery below in fear and wonder. "I don't understand. I've never heard of these shen-gong-wu."

"I will be your teacher, and instruct you in the ways of the Dragon!" Omi cried eagerly.

Amanda smiled, eyes glittering. Who could resist Omi's cuteness??

"We're going to find the shen-gong-wu and bring it back to the temple," Raimundo stated.

"We have to, 'cause an evil witch and a boy genius is tryin' to get 'em and use 'em to take over the world," Clay explains.

Omi butted in, stealing the spotlight, "the shen-gong-wu are sacred objects, capable of great destruction, that allow the holder to posses great power. If the forces of evil are ever able to gather them all, the world will be brought into much chaos."

"Oh," said Amanda, more confused than ever.

"It's just up ahead!" Dojo called, shaking uncontrollably and leaving Amanda hanging on for dear life. They descend and land. Everyone jumps off, and Amanda sighs with relief.

"You're too late, losers!" a voice called out, and everyone's heads jerked in the direction of the speaker. The boy had flaming-red hair and dark-red eyes, and wore a pitch-black trenchcoat.

Amanda's eyes widened in shock when she saw the boy, and she gasped disbelievingly, "Jack?!"

"Jack Spicer!" Omi cried.

"The shen-gong-wu is mine! Jackbots! Attack!"

Out of nowhere, flying machines appeared, heading strait for them! Amanda continued to stare at Jack as the others jumped into action. One of the robots came at her from behind, and she was taken by surprise and knocked to the ground. Her eyes screwed up in pain as she lays in the dirt, and she rolled out of the way just in time to dodge a laser. The robot flew at her as she scrambled to her feet, and she was knocked backwards. Two more converged on her, and she screamed and covers her head, waiting for the contact. At the sound of a loud BOOM, her head jerked up just in time to see the pieces of the robots fall to the ground. A hand reached down and she took it. Clay pulled her to her feet, tipped his hat, and then rushed to help the others. She watched in amazement for a moment as he pummeled another bot, then she spinned around at a cry from Jack. She saw Jack heading for some shining object, which lay in between them.

'That must be the shen-gong-wu!' she though in a panic, instinctively jumping for it. They touched it at the same time, her slender hand falling on top of his gloved one.

"You- whoever you are- I challenge you to a xiaolin showdown! Your mantis flip-coin against my lotus twister! First one to the top of the mountain wins!"

"You must accept, Amanda! He must not obtain the shen-gong-wu!" Omi shouted urgently.

Amanda looked into Jack's determined eyes and forced herself to say, "I accept."

"You can do it!" Clay shouted encouragingly.

She tore her eyes off of Jack and looked over at the group, but suddenly stumbled as the ground began to quake. She cought herself before falling, and looked up, mouth agape, as the mountain grew taller and steeper than ever. They were suddenly on a platform near the mountain, where below them lied nothing but white clouds.

She gasped. 'It's... so high...'

"Gong-he tempai!!"

"Huh?!" Jack has already taken off. Amanda jolts behind. Top of the mountain. Could be worse- "Agh!" she cried as the earth under her began to crumble.

She jumped onto more stable ground, and just as her feet touched the rocky earth, it trembled and crumbled under her feet once more. Amanda ran at full speed, trying to keep well ahead of the breaking earth under her and panting in fear and exhaustion.

"Lotus Twister!" Amanda looked up at Jack... and he was near the middle of the mountain already. His arms and legs stretched grotesquely ahead of him, grabbing and climbing with ease.

"Use the shen-gong-wu!" Raimundo shouted impatiently from the floating platform that stood in the air above her.

"Mantis flipcoin!" she shouted, unsure of what to expect. She jumped over a gap... and the world was turned upside down. "Agh!" she screamed, but was relieved when her feet hit solid ground almost instantly. The shock wore off relatively quickly. Preparing herself, she jumped again, this time up to a ledge above her, and again and again, until she had caught up with Jack. 'I can do this," she thought dazedly, looking for another place to land-

"Jackbots!" Jack called, and she was bombarded by another swarm of robots.

'How many of these things does he have?!' she thought, dodging to the side and barely escaping as one came flying at her, lasers ablaze.

"I can't watch!" Dojo cried from Clay's shoulder, covering his eyes.

Amanda thought quickly, then lowered her brows determinedly. "Mantis Flipcoin!" she shouted, flipping it in her hand. With great effort, she jumped on the nearest robot above her, then another, higher up, then another, rising higher and higher... She grabbed the shen-gong-wu just as Jack's rubbery hand reached for it.

A bright light flashed, then they were falling to earth. Jack switched on his helicopter-pack, and floated down safely while Amanda continued to careen towards the ground, dropping the Crystal Pendant, Mantis Flipcoin, and Lotus Twister (which had mysteriously ended up in her hand)...

"Aaagh- oof!" Her eyes screwed shut and her fingers grasped tightly onto her fall-breaker. She shivered uncontrollably.

"Howdy," said Clay's voice.

She opened her tear-filled eyes and realizes that she was safe. The others watch wide-eyed as she curled up into Clay's shirt, clutching the fabric for dear life and letting out a sob.

"Uh..." Clay was shocked, and his face went red, looking around him at the others for help.

Amanda continued to tremble and sob as the others stared.

The newly won shen-gong-wu laid in front of Raimundo, who reached forward and picked up the Crystal Pendant, then slid it around his neck.

"Let's try it out!" he said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Who are you going to-" Kimiko began, but was interrupted by Raimundo.

"Crystal Pendant!" he cried, closing his eyes as in meditation. Before him on an old couch lied Amanda's mother. Her hair was a mess and she wasn't wearing any make-up.

'What is this?' Raimundo thought, looking around the dark room at the filth and mess.

He walked down a cluttered hallway, and looked into the different rooms. The third door down, the last room, the door was closed. He reached out a hand to open it, but it passed right through the solid doorknob. At the revelation, he stepped through the door, and looked around. This room was much cleaner. There were no windows, and though the walls were old and yellowed and the ceiling was cracked in several places, you would never know that this room was connected to the shabby old place where the woman lay fast asleep.

A bed with white sheets was carefully made, and the bookshelf and dresser were tidy. On the desk against one wall sat a picture frame and a book. He moved closer to the picture frame and gasped.

"No way!" he said aloud. He closed his eyes in a hard blink, and when he opened them he was looking into the eager face of Omi.

"What did you see my friend?!" he asked excitedly.

"Uh- just checking in on home," Raimundo replied, casting a furtive glance at Amanda, who now sat, red-faced, away from the others.


	3. Chapter 3: Amanda

Author's note: This chapter contains some fluff and flashbacks. Also, I re-wrote this whole chapter last night, so it may contain tome errors.

Chapter 3: Amanda

That evening, Kimiko passed Amanda's room and heared the faint sound of music... she stopped to listen... It was faint, and she couldn't quite hear... The music cut off, and the doorway flap was thrown open.

"Yes? What is it, Kimiko?" Amanda asked.

"Um- I- Uh..." Kimiko began embarrassedly. Kimiko noticed that Amanda's eyes were a red and swollen, as if she had been crying. "Well, I was just passing by."

"It's alright, I'm sorry if my music was too loud," she apologized. "Do you want to come in?"

Amanda led Kimiko into the room, which was pretty much bare, save the mat that served as a bed on the floor and a few things scattered around.

A small, beautiful music box caught Kimiko's eye. "Ooh, how pretty!" she said, picking it up carefully.

Amanda's eyes widened as she noticed what Kimiko held. "Oh, thank you."

"Where did you get it?" she asked, folding her legs beneath her and studying it.

"Oh..." her face went pink. "A boy."

Kimiko smiled at her, glad to have found a connection between them. Girl-talk was one thing she'd missed since she'd joined the temple. "Really? He must really like you!"

Amanda sat down opposite her, blushing. "I thought he did, but... I lost touch with him a long time ago."

"Oh," said Kimiko apologetically.

"I bumped into him recently, though. He didn't recognize me."

"Really? He sounds like a jerk to me," Kimiko said, taking a stand for Amanda.

"Oh, but he isn't- wasn't! He was so sweet, and funny, and romantic!"

Kimiko noticed how Amanda glowed when she talked about him. She had it bad. "Tell me about him," she said, smiling and setting down the music box.

"Well, we met while my mom and I were on vacation. We were in Florida..." she was swept back into her memories. "I was alone, because mom was with her boyfriend, and I was reading a book... and then, he came running by."

Kimiko was smiling serenely. He sounded like a hunk...

"He tripped and fell right in front of me."

Or not.

"What?" Kimiko exclaimed.

Amanda giggled, blushing. "Hahaha, he tripped over a kid's sandcastle and fell face-first into the sand. That's how we met."

Kimiko thought he sounded like a dorky clutz, but didn't say so.

"He was embarrassed..."

_The pale, red-haired boy got up on his knees, spitting out sand and wiping himself off embarassedly. Amanda had her feet pulled under her and was looking at him worriedly. _

_"Are you alright?"_

_He looked up at her, his eyes full of sand. "Owowowowowoww! I can't seeeee!"_

_"Oh my gosh! Here, hold my hand. I'll take you to the restrooms."_

_Once he emmerged from the mens' restroom, she asked him if he was alright. She noticed that he had rinsed out his eyes, and was amazed to find that they were a deep scarlet._

_He was really embarrassed, still. "Yeah... um, thanks for the help." He started to walk away, leaving her watching after him, when he turned around suddenly and asked, "Hey, do you want to uh, get a soda or something?"_

Amanda paused in her story, smiling and completely lost in the past.

Kimiko broke the silence when she asked, "So did you say yes?"

"Yeah," replied Amanda, snapping our of her reverie. "He treated me and said it was a thank-you. Then, we got to talking, and we walked along the shore and looked for seashells. The next day, we met up again and we played volleyball..."

_"Hey," he called out, throwing a volleyball up in his hand and catching it. He wore a big smile. "Want to play some one-on-one?" _

_She giggled. He lit up. _

_"Sure," she said, "but I'm not very good."_

_"That's okay," he assured. "I'll go easy on you."_

Amanda giggled, remembering how she'd beat him. "He lost."

Kimiko laughed. "He sounds kind of braggy."

"Well, he was, yeah," Amanda explained, "but it was cute."

"What happened after that?" Kimiko asked, now wrapped up in Amanda's story.

"Well, we kept meeting up for the next few days, and we had alot of fun. Then, it was my last day there, and I had to go home." Her eyes became sad. "He knew it was my last day, so that night, we told me to met him on the beach. I did, and he told me to close my eyes. He took my hands and led me through the sand..."

_She felt the sand between her toes as he gently pulled her along. His hands were soft and cool, and her heart pounded. _

_"Okay," he said. _

_She opened her eyes to find him speaking into a cell phone. _

_"Now!" he said, then looked out over the dark water expectantly._

_Her eyes went wide as a spiral of light seemed to come out of the water itself. She watched it swirl into the air, and then explode into a fireball of colors and light. Fireworks!_

_He watched her face light up, and smiled in triumph, closing the phone._

_She watched in wonder, allowing the boy to pull her down to sit on a soft sheet that had been laid on the sand._

_She gasped at a particularly magnificent display of shapes in the sky, and blushed as a large red heart formed in the sparkling mass. Shyly, she laid her head on his shoulder._

_He wrapped his arm around her and laid his hand on her hip. They sat like that until the show was over..._

'How romantic,' thought Kimiko, smiling.

"He walked me home, hand in hand," she went on, smiling serenely.

"Did he kiss you?" Kimiko asked shamelessly, dying to know.

Amanda went red, then nodded.

Kimiko squeeled in glee.

"It was my first kiss..." Amanda admitted, smiling embarassedly.

"Knock, knock!" a voice interrupted from the doorway. Raimundo opened the flap and stepped inside, followed by Omi and Clay.

"What is above us, my friends?!" Omi cried excitedly.

"That's 'what's up'." Amanda informs him, smiling, face red with embarrassement. Had they heard anything...?

The boys looked around, and Raimundo's eyes rested on the music box that set beside Kimiko, who said aggrivatedly, "Do you guys mind?!"

He plucked it off the ground, then tossed it in the air one-handed, opening his mouth to ask what it was, and then he was flat on his back staring up at an angry Amanda with the thing in her right hand and her left hand balled in a fist.

"If you break this, I break you, Raimundo." Amanda said in a deadly whisper.

"What in tarnation...?" Clay asked blinking, his blue eyes wide under his hat.

The others were just as dumbstruck. Amanda blinked, looked around, and realized that everyone was now staring at her. Her face paled and her eyes widened as she looked down and suddenly realized what she had done.

"Raimundo! Are you alright?!" she cried urgently. The others looked on in amazement as she reached her hand down to help him up. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to- I mean- I'm sorry!" She was near tears as he clutched her hand confusedly, rubbing the back of his bumped head as she helped him to his feet.

"What was that all about?" he asked.

"I don't... I thought you were going to break this..." she said, ashamedly, carefully wrapping the thing in two hands. "What is it?" he asked, wondering why it was so important.

"None of your business, Rai," Kimiko cut in, saving Amanda.

"So, um, what did you guys need?" Amanda asked, changing the subject abruptly, her face going pink.

"Oh... right," Clay said shaking his head to clear it.

"New friend Amanda! We have come to 'hang in' with you, and-"

"Hang out," Kimiko interrupted. The boys all sat.

"Correct. As I was saying, we have come to-"

"Ask you a few questions," Raimundo interrupted, frowning.

"Um, okay... Why?" she asked, sitting down upon the floor once again, feeling as though in front of a crowd as the others all watched her.

"Let's just say we haven't had the best of luck with new students," Raimundo answered.

"And besides," Clay added, "we'll be workin' with each other fer a while."

"Alright. What did you want to ask?"

Raimundo opened his mouth- "I'll start," Kimiko said. "Not to be rude or anything, but what's up with your mom?" "Oh... well... she's not my real mom," Amanda answered.

"That explains the lack of family resemblance," Raimundo joked.

"What do you mean by this?" Omi asked.

"My parents died a long time ago," Amanda answered. "She's my foster mother. When I was orphaned, I became her responsibility. We share the same last name because she adopted me."

"I am an orphan, too! Did you ever know your parents? What was your original last name?" Omi asked excitedly.

"My mother's name was Song. I don't remember her, or my father. My last name- I'm not sure." She looked down. "Anything else?"

"How did you find out about this place?" Raimundo asked.

"A letter."

"From who? Master Fung?"

"No. It didn't have a name on it."

"Weird," said Kimiko.

"Hey guys, " came another voice from the doorway. It was Dojo. "Could you keep it down? How's a dragon supposed to get his beauty rest with you guys around?"

"Sorry, Dojo!" Amanda said apologetically. "It's my fault. I thought we should get to know each other better. Sorry for keeping you guys up, too," she said, standing.

"Well, you're new, so I'll let it slide this time," he said in a fake tough-guy act, smiling.

"Thanks, Dojo," she said smiling as he turned tail and headed off down the hall. "You guys better get going," she said quietly.

They all stood.

"Thanks for taking the rap, Amanda!"

"Yeah, thanks," added Clay, tipping his hat.

"No problem," she said, winking, "and thank you, Kimiko, for earlier!"

...

Author's Recap: More is revealed about Amanda's past, and what's up with that myseterious letter that led her to the temple in the first place? Will Raimundo reveal what he saw in her house? And who's this mystery boy Amanda tells Kimiko about? Muahahahaha, you'll have to wait 'till later to find out!


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